Chapter 2: Other People's Children: North Lawndale and the South Side of Chicago
Group Members: Briana Paulo, Lauren Turgeon, Lauren Mastrobuono, Kristin Orabone, Chris Staniszewski
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Notes from Class:
Martin Luther King
His home is now a vacant lot. There was a dump truck in place of his old house.
He saw Chicago as a very racist place.
Most children would have had no idea who he was.
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Despite official statistics, the defector graduation rate in Chicago is ~ 25% (58)
Magnet schools operate like private schools and attract white students, encouraging a survival of the fittest view. (60)
School choice is illusory without all parents having information and access.
Some school critics say that investment should correspond to potential. (75)
There are parallel curricula occurring in suburban/urban schools, with suburban schools offering more challenging, higher-quality classes.
Politicians are very hypocritical.
Many teachers apathetic and just let kids do whatever they want
Carol Hawkins > great teacher who was very passionate, but for every 20 teachers only 1 was actually good (Spent personal money on the classroom) Taught students to depend on each other
Parents were very informed about alternative educations but uneducated so they cannot make decisions
Page 45, "Mary is white...Master is white, sheep is black"
5th graders are learning cursive, should have known how to write in cursive since 2nd grade
Kids are barely literate when they graduate
Teachers who are unprepared and given classes they do not know how to handle
New Trier > so amazing compared to Du Sable; college prep classes where Du Sable had cosmetology
3 out of 12 boys will be in prison; 1 out of total class will graduate
Cannot tax poor people and no way of getting more funding for school
Titanic > hopeless, cannot fix a sinking ship
New Trier added vocational classes, but no one wanted to take them
Teachers with tenure could not be fired but should not be there (not passionate)
Students had fancy graduations at 8th grade because they weren’t expected to go any further in their education
Business executives didn't care that poor kids were receiving education for vocational jobs because "someone had to do it".
White families moved into neighborhood and states set up schools right away and didn't allow black children in.
Followup Questions:
Why is no one helping inner city schools? Because not many people have graduated college from inner city schools.
Has the graduation rate in Chicago increased?
Is Carol Hawkins acknowledged anywhere for great academic services? Is she still alive? Could we contact and get feedback?
http://ccsr.uchicago.edu/news_citations/070506_chicagotribune.html Chicago, the third largest school system, had a 52.2 percent graduation rate. That corresponded with a study by the Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago, which reported this year that 54 percent of Chicago public school freshmen receive a diploma.
Chapter 2: Other People's Children: North Lawndale and the South Side of Chicago
Martin Luther King
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